SUMMER OF LAGER

The Mash
Beer 101
YEAST
#7
Brewery
FOCUS
4/12) This is where the magic happens. As Pete Brown suggests
in our podcast about his new book covering the ingredients
of beer: “Yeast is a miracle in itself. It’s a microscopic
organism that eats sugar and excretes alcohol and carbon
dioxide.” Yeast is added to wort – the sugary and
hoppy liquid – and ferments the sugar resulting in an
alcoholic beer. Different strains of yeast are better for
different beers. Lager, for example, is defined by the
yeast it uses; one that allows fermentation at low
temperatures. (There’s compelling evidence that a
main lager yeast strain originates in the Amazon.
The Amazon!).
It also imparts flavour, both intentionally, and
off-flavours. That banana-like taste in a hefeweizen?
That’s the yeast – but you don’t want it in a mild.
And more and more new brewers are using yeast to
define their beers: Wild Beer Co use a sourdoughbased
yeast with great success. The Belgians have
been playing around with yeasts for years. Lambics and
saisons (see right) are often produced with Brettanomyces
yeast strain (you’ll see this word a lot), and gives the beer a
sour edge. Similarly, Lactobacillus gives an acidity to beers such
as Berliner weisse. It’s a miracle indeed, and a new frontier for beer.
News
#6
SHORTS
i/ One of the world’s most sought-after beers, Founders Kentucky
Breakfast Stout, has just been released in the UK. It is often voted as i
the best beer in the world on Rate Beer. Get it quick.
/ jamesclay.co.uk for stockists.
ii/ Meantime Brewery has been bought by SAB Miller, the world’s
second largest brewery. Meantime increased production by 58% last
year. / meantimebrewing.com
iii/ Dark Star Brewing Co have announced an expansion into the
pub market and are currently looking for 20 pubs over the next five
years, mostly in the south east. / darkstarbrewing.co.uk
iii
iv/ BrewDog have launched their fourth crowd-funding round Equity
For Punks IV. Two shares (£95) is minimum investment. / brewdog.com
v/ Marks & Spencer now stock branded beers from Fourpure,
Camden Town, Buxton, Sierra Nevada, Brooklyn and Anchor among
vi
others. / marksandspencer.com
vi/ The 2nd edition of The CAMRA Guide to London’s Best Beers,
v
Pubs and Bars written by Des De Moor is now out. / desdemoor.co.uk
HANDCRAFTED BEER
FROM EAST LONDON
@FivePointsBrew
www.fivepointsbrewing.co.uk
0 6
When we arrive at Fourpure on a Bermondsey trading
estate in May, more new tanks are going in. Even by craft
beer standards, the rise of Fourpure has been fast. Michel
Roux Jr stocks a bespoke beer in La Gavroche and two
of the beers are in Marks & Spencer stores across the
country. After brothers Dan and Tom Lowe sold their
technology business in 2012, there was a bit of soulsearching
and a lot of travelling. Dan had long been a
homebrewer, and ‘won’ a charity auction for some branding
consultancy. Meanwhile Tom was having a beer epiphany
in California – the choice become obvious. The consultancy
company helped them create the Fourpure brand, kit was
bought and in 2013 they opened for business.
Did you begin with an ethos you wanted to adhere to?
Yes indeed. ‘Inspired by Adventure’ encapsulates
our whole ethos around modern beer.
It’s got its roots in traditional beer styles, but
is heavily influenced by the cultures, flavours
and – to use a wine term – the terroir of the
ingredients. We’ve had the chance to travel to
find these points of inspiration, and also been
lucky enough to have people from seven countries
take their own adventures and arrive in a
brewery in South East London and contribute
to Fourpure. We then set out three simple rules,
checks if you will, for things we would invest in:
does it improve the quality of the beer? Is it fun
to do? Does it make business sense? Satisfying
these tests still forms the basis for us.
Is the US craft beer scene an inspiration to you?
It certainly has had and continues to influence
us. In terms of style development, hops, and
most of all the understanding from the larger
craft brewers about quality. However, the influence
is far more global for us – from the traditional
brewers of the UK, to the exciting hop
scene of the South Pacific, through to the South
FIVE
POINTS
PALE
FIVE
POINTS
IPA
FOURPURE
RAILWAY
PORTER
LONDON
SMOKE
East Asian and Japanese craft explosion.
The Americans did teach us some key things
though – brewing to style is important for
drinkers to understand what you are offering,
but not beholden to style in equal measure. Not
forgetting one of the keys to potential success
- risk taking, but they balance that with being
socially conscious and engaging communities.
Fourpure really concentrate of consistency over a relatively
small range of beers – was that a clear plan?
We appreciate the compliment! We did spend
our first year dialing in our recipes, our processes,
and our quality. That has allowed us to
understand our equipment, be fastidious on
quality, and train our team which all forms a
foundation for innovation and growth. But
we’re also producing plenty of one off and seasonal
beers. We’ve been releasing and distributing
a new beer every month in 2015 so far – and
that’s in addition to the Outpost small batch
series only seen in our tap room.
Read the full interview at originalgravity.com.
See page 17 for Tasting Notes on Fourpure Pils
/fourpure.com
1/ West Coast Saison, 5.9%
Saison it may be, but this is packed with
aromatic US hops and is sumptuous.
2/ Amber Ale, 5.1%
This is a rich, bready amber beer
that tastes of the Californian sun.
3/ Pils, 4.7%
A great example of Munich Pilsner, but
look out for the limited Dry Hopped Pils.
HOOK
ISLAND
RED